Business
DoorDash vs. Uber: Investors are backing DoorDash, current king of food delivery in the US

DoorDash vs. Uber: Investors are backing DoorDash, current king of food delivery in the US

DoorDash for ___

A lot of start-ups paint their vision for the future by describing their company as the "Uber for ___", the "Airbnb for ___" or the "Netflix of ___". But this week, the first of those comparisons lost a little of its lustre, as online food delivery service DoorDash officially became more valuable than Uber, hitting close to a $75bn market capitalization on Thursday.

That DoorDash is more valuable than Uber's Rides and Eats business is quite remarkable, considering DoorDash does just one of those things in basically just one country (the US was 99.5% of its revenue last year)... compared to Uber's operations that are well established across ~70 countries.

With 57% of the US food delivery market, DoorDash has been something of a beneficiary of the recent rise in the delta variant of coronavirus. Delta, and everything that comes with it, has reinvigorated demand for food delivery while doing the opposite for ride-hailing, which still makes up a significant chunk of Uber's business.

DoorDash vs. New York City

This week the company filed a lawsuit against New York City, over a new law that could see delivery companies share customer data with the restaurants fulfilling orders. Presumably if told to share the data, restaurants could deal with customers more directly, threatening the usefulness of the app.

That follows from the lawsuit last week which protests the now-permanent cap on fees that apps are allowed to take from restaurants in NYC that was first introduced during the early days of the pandemic. Shout out to the DoorDash lawyers who have been busy.

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Starbucks issues apology after viral “Bearista” cup meltdown

Holiday cheer turned into chaos this week for Starbucks after the coffee giant’s new “Bearista” holiday cup sent fans into a frenzy. 

Dropped alongside its 2025 holiday menu, the $30 beanie-wearing glass bear tumbler sparked long lines, sellouts, and even in-store scuffles before Starbucks stepped in with an apology.

“The excitement for our merchandise exceeded even our biggest expectations,” the company said in a statement to People. “Despite shipping more Bearista cups to our coffeehouses than almost any other item this holiday season, the Bearista cup and some other items sold out fast.”

Within hours of launch, frustrated fans flooded Starbucks’ social media pages and even store hotlines. Some customers waited in line before dawn and others said their stores received only a handful of cups. In one Houston location, the craze even turned physical, with police reportedly called to break up a brawl. Meanwhile, the cup is already reselling on sites like eBay, with listings topping $600.

“We understand many customers were excited about the Bearista cup and apologize for the disappointment this may have caused,” Starbucks said. While in-store customers may be upset, investors seem happy about the viral hit, as the stock has risen over 3% on Friday.

If you’re still hoping for a Bearista at market price, that may not be on order: the chain didn’t disclose how many cups were made or whether a restock is planned.

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Target tells workers to smile, wave, and greet shoppers if they come within 10 feet of them

Target just rolled out a new rule for store employees: smile, make eye contact, and greet or wave when a shopper comes within 10 feet — and if they get closer, within four feet, ask whether they need help or how their day is going, according to a new Bloomberg report.

Dubbed the 10-4 program internally, the rule mirrors rival Walmarts own 10-foot policy, formalizing behavior Target had previously only encouraged.

business

Monster surges on energy drink buzz, while Celsius sinks on distribution concerns

Shares of Monster Beverage climbed 5% after the bell on Thursday, and held most of those gains into early trading on Friday, following strong Q3 results.

The energy drink giant topped market expectations, with quarterly sales up 17% year over year to $2.2 billion and adjusted net profits growing 41% to $524.5 million — 11% ahead of Wall Street’s estimates. In the report, Monster highlighted its zero-sugar line and new product launches, with a stack of novel flavors already released this year, as bright spots.

During a call with analysts, Chief Executive Hilton Schlosberg said that the global energy drink category “remains healthy with robust growth,” The Wall Street Journal reported, adding that demand for more affordable caffeinated drinks is rising as coffee has become “really expensive.”

Meanwhile, rival beverage business Celsius saw shares fall as much as 23% on its Q3 results yesterday — despite beating expectations, with revenue jumping 173% — largely due to concerns about a change in the company’s distribution channel, as its newly acquired Alani Nu brand joins the PepsiCo distribution network.

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